Professor Crepsley
by AxelThePyromaniac
Summary: Being a college professor is a great job for Larten Crepsley. He teaches an urban legends class, and a few of is students are acting really strange towards him... What will he think when he knows why? Rated for violence and death scenes, and possible romance. NO YAOI.
1. Chapter 1: The Professor

**Professor Crepsley**

**Chapter 1**

Disclaimer" I do not own Cirque du Freak… It belongs to Darren Shan, the most swagtastic author evarrrrrrrr!

The orange-haired man rolled out of bed. Literally. He grimaced as he hit the floor with a thud. "Darn alarm clock." he said as he collected himself from the floor and unplugged the infernal machine. Sure, he loved his job as a college professor, but if there were one thing that would make the job better, it would definitely have to be not needing to wake up so early. He grabbed a towel from the linen closet it the hall, and showered quickly. Then, he brushed and blow-dried his orange hair and put on one of his many red suits. Being a college professor was the best thing that ever happened to Larten; he loved the looks on his student's faces as he taught them the stories in his Urban Myths and Legends class, surprisingly a hit in the small college campus he taught.

Larten had started teaching not too long ago, only two years ago. He had graduated in a breeze, focusing on nothing but his studies as his peers partied and drank until their heads spun. Larten stayed in his dorm, focusing on his papers and making so many corrections and checks that the finished product kept him well ahead of his peers. He was number one in his graduating class, and earned many awards. However, he was the type to not let any of this go to his head, and the plaques he had accumulated over the years remained under his bed in a box labeled 'those things.'

The man brewed himself a cup of coffee as he graded his papers at the table. At times, he felt as if he was too hard on his students, but they always surpassed his expectations, as they were very interested in what their professor taught them. More than once, his fellow professors asked Larten how he grabbed his students' attention so well. He always responded with a curt "It is not me who grabs the attention of my students. It is the class. I am just fortunate enough to be the one teaching it." When the coffee was done brewing, he took down a travel mug and poured the dark brew in, adding no sugar or milk. Taking a long drink from the cup, he sat back down as he went back to grading papers. He sat like that for half and hour, unaware that he was going to be late. After a while, he glanced at his watch and realized he needed to be on campus before his first class started in twenty minutes. And of course, it was a half an hour drive.

The coffee was swept up quickly as he replaced the papers into his briefcase. His keys were swept off the hook as he exited the door of his apartment. Walking like a ninja, he opened his car and threw his briefcase into the passenger's seat, uttering one or two profanities in the process. When he was seated in the car, he thrust the key into the ignition and turned it on. As he pulled out of the apartment complex's parking lot, he searched through his mind for any quicker ways to campus. There were none.

When he arrived, he was five minutes late. Picking up his coffee and his briefcase, he ran through the halls and stopped when he came to the door of his classroom. Taking a minute to smooth out his suit, he swore under his breath again. How could he have been so stupid? He put on his best professor-face and walked into the room. "I apologize." he said, interrupting the chatter of his students. He walked to his desk and put down the coffee and his briefcase. The noise of young adults readjusting their chairs and hushing quickly followed. Larten sighed. "I am sorry to disappoint you," he said, looking up at the faces of his students. "But, I shall make up for it," he said, picking up and Expo marker from the ledge of the white board. He uncapped it and started to write a word. "Today," he said when he had finished writing. "We are learning about vampires." Larten stood aside to show the word he had written on the board, vampires. Squeeing and sighing ensued. "Now, who has heard an urban legend or a myth involving vampires?" He said, twirling the marker in his hands. All hands in the room raised, all but one. "Miss Shan," he said, calling on the one person who did not raise their hands.

"Yes, Professor Crepsley?" she said, looking up from the binder she had doodled in.

"Surely you have heard a myth about vampires." Larten said, sitting on the edge of his desk. The girl, Annie Shan, fidgeted a bit before answering.

"Well, there is the one about…" Annie said, trailing off. Her brother, Darren, who was sitting next to her, shot her a look. Curious, Larten focused on the pair of siblings as he drank from his coffee. Darren continued to look at her, and all the other students in general seemed to be averting their eyes from their professor.

"Yes?" Larten said, growing more curious by the second.

"Umm… There's one that says that there's a vampire in the state…"

"Oh? Would you care to share?" he asked. Annie looked very uncomfortable as she fidgeted even more.

"Uh… Sure, I guess," She looked up, into Larten's eyes, her deep blue eyes boring into his. She stood up, as was the custom in Larten's classroom when one spoke to the class. "So, a bunch of years ago, there was like, this man who was bitten by a vampire. Supposedly, he was a pretty young guy, and he was really tall. He lives in the forest, and we know this because people are found there unconscious, and when they wake up, they have no idea what happened." When she had finished speaking, she quickly sat down, causing her long tan hair to fly up in above her.

"Well then," Larten said, standing up as he spoke. "Who else has heard that legend?" He asked, looking around the room. Every hand rose, all except Annie's as she doodled in her binder again. "Ooookay, so let's make a list. All of the things we associate with the myth that is vampires." He took one more sip of coffee then put it down. Then, he walked over to the whiteboard, marker still in hand. Under _vampires,_ he drew a line and spun on his heel to face the class. "Well, I need things to put on the list." he said with a laugh. The class smiled as hands rose. "Mister Shan?"

"Biting." he said, causing snickers to sound throughout the classroom. The marker flew across the board as he wrote the word down. Again, he looked around to select another hand. He looked to the corner of the room, where Steve Leonard was bursting out of his seat.

"Mister Leonard?"

"Drinking blood!" he said, a gory excitement in his voice. The professor had expected no less from the boy. Sighs sounded through the room. Larten wrote the words down.

Soon, they had a lengthy list of things they associated with vampires.

"Alright. You have an assignment," Larten said, sitting back on the ledge of his desk as he took a long sip of his now cold coffee. Grimacing slightly, he faced the class. "Use your knowledge and this list we constructed to write a paper on the things associated with vampires, and why you think this is. Six pages minimum, not including bibliography. Remember to cite all of your sources, Mister Purl," Larten said in Gavner Purl's direction, a boy who tended to be caught up with his friends and forgot many things. "This is due next week. Also, I will be collecting your papers on modern legends at the end of class." Larten said, looking at the clock. There were about ten minutes left of class. "Well, class, we have ten minutes. You are free to ask me any question about my life or anything in general." As he said this, many hands rose, and he ran a hand through his orange hair. "Mister March."

"How many chicks you been with?" he said. Several groans were heard as multiple hands went down. Larten pondered this question. Of course, Vancha March would ask him that. He never really found time to seek a female companion, being so focused on his studies. Now that he really thought about it, he realized that he had never had a girlfriend, not even in grade school.

"None." he replied honestly. "Miss Evanna?" Lady Evanna looked up at him, her coal black eyes contrasting against her pale skin, and her pale skin contrasting against her wild black hair.

"How old are you?" Again, more groans filled the room as even more hands went down.

"How old am I?" he repeated. "I am twenty-nine." Gasps filled the classroom as the students chattered to themselves. "Class!" Larten said, bringing them back to attention. "Mister Tall?"

"How did you get that scar on your face?" Hibernius Tall said in his deep voice, raising his voice slightly to be heard. He sat in the very back of the classroom due to his height. His last name was the truth; he was over seven feet tall. Larten pondered yet again. The story of his scar was not really something he went around telling everyone. "Well, you see, I fell asleep studying one day, and I happened to fall against the table, where there is a loose nail. The nail tore through my flesh. When I woke up, I was in a hospital. My roommate had come home from a party and had seen me in a pool of my blood. I then needed stitches to close the wound." Larten traced a finger along his jagged scar. He looked back up at the mesmerized class. That was the most exciting thing they had ever heard from him. "Miss-" Larten began to say, but he was cut short by the bell. His class packed up their things and dropped papers on his desk as they left. When he thought they had all gone, he heard a small voice.

"Excuse me, Professor Crepsley?" Annie said, looking at him with her big blue eyes.

"Ah, something I can help you with, Miss Shan?" he asked, stacking the papers and putting them in his briefcase. She began to bounce on her heels, apparently not able to stay still when she was standing, either.

"Well, I was wondering if you believed in any of the things you tell us about." she asked, still bouncing.

"Yes, I actually do." Larten said, a bit taken aback by her question. "Where did this come from?" She began hopping from foot to foot. Wow, she has energy, Larten thought.

"Well, it was my question for the end of class, but we had to leave."

"I see."

"I have to go!" She said, suddenly turning on her heel ash she tried to run away. She tripped over the carpeting, landing roughly on her front.

"Miss Shan! Are you alright?" Larten said, rushing over to help her.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" She sat up. Larten looked around, seeing her school things scattered around. He stood to collect them, and he noticed what Annie had drawn during class. It was a portrait of him, with excellent detail and beauty.

"Wow…" he found himself saying aloud as he marveled her drawing. "You are very talented, Miss Shan." he said as he handed her school things back to her.

"No!" she said, blushing profusely. She grabbed her things quickly and rushed out of the door. Larten stood puzzling over her strange behavior. Why had she been so shy when he praised her drawing? Then another thought struck him: Why was she even drawing him in the first place?

* * *

A/N: Well. It's there now. TO ALL OF YOU LARTEN LOVERS, HERE'S SOME… LOVE! YEAH! Ok… Well, please review and tell me if I should continue. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: The Past Is Now

**Professor Crepsley**

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque du Freak, it belongs to Darren Shan. Darren Shan is the most swagalicious author in the world, I owe my life to the guy!**

**He… ok, to the story. **

He sat back down at his desk and waited for his second and last class of the day as he thought some more. It was a bit unsettling that one of his students drew his face to such an extent, but maybe she was just an art major taking this as one of her minors? Deciding just to shrug it off and prepare himself for class, he took another drink of his disgustingly cold coffee and knew a trip to Starbucks was desperately needed. Slamming down the mug on his desk with a _thunk, _he stood up and erased what was on the board. As he finished erasing the last word, the bell rang and his second class of students walked in. At the head of the crowd was Mika Ver Leth, as usual dressed in all black and looking as if he belonged at a funeral and not a college campus. As the students behind him complained that he was walking too slowly, he suddenly looked behind him and shot them a glare that silenced all. Larten sneered at this. Mika was definitely something else. "Class, please sit down. We have much to discuss."

After dragging out the lesson as long as he possibly could, he discovered that there were still about five minutes full of empty nothing. Well, he thought, I guess I'll just do what I did with the other class. "Well, it seems I have under planned for this lesson. Since we have five minutes left of class, feel free to ask me any questions you'd like." As was the case in the last class, almost all hands went up. "Mr. Ver Leth?" Larten asked, seeing his favorite student's hand go up.

"What was the best birthday present you have ever received?" Mika said, in his usual somber tone. Larten pondered this, because there were about a decade of birthdays that he could actually remember. During these, he had never expected much, but there was one gift he had wanted all year and had unexpectedly received from his mother about a year back.

"Actually, the most enjoyable of gifts I have received in my lifetime was a CD." Larten said, once again sitting on the ledge of his desk.

"What kind of music?" Mika asked.

"A Calvin Harris CD." Larten said, feeling slightly embarrassed. The room erupted in several guffaws and a few fangirl-like squees.

"Miss Hemlock?"

"What languages do you know?" Debbie asked, the girlfriend of Darren Shan. Debbie Hemlock was a nice girl, even if she was too outgoing for her own good.

"Well, I know Japanese, Welsh, Dutch, French, and some Mandarin." Larten said, ticking each language off on his fingers as he spoke.

"Mister Von?"

"Combien de femmes avez-vous eu une relation avec?" Evra Von said, speaking French to an unsuspecting Crepsley.

"Honnêtement, je suis sorti avec un. Je suppose que je n'ai tout jamais eu le temps." Larten replied simply, having answered that same question before.

"Mister Tiny?" Larten said reluctantly. Desmond Tiny gave everyone the creeps. Just the way he strut around campus with a watch that looked way too much like a human heart was enough to give anyone the creeps, right?

"Have you ever killed anything?" Desmond asked, the malevolence dripping from his voice.

"Of course I have, bugs here and there." The professor said, thankful it wasn't any worse than it was. Then, the bell rang, and Mika stayed behind, scribbling something on a piece of paper. He sat like that for several minutes, and Larten didn't notice until he had already packed up and was on his way out. He caught sight of the lingering student and walked up behind him, hoping to tell him that it was time to go. As he walked over to him, he was able to see that Mika was drawing a picture of the professor as well. Quickly retreating to his desk before being seen, he knew that Mika and Annie must have worked on this thing together, but it was best that at least Mika didn't know that he knew, if that makes any sense. One thing was for sure, it was time for Larten to go.

"Mister Ver Leth." Larten said.

"Hm?" Mika said, looking up from his drawing.

"Class ended ten minutes ago. I suggest you leave now." Larten said, nearing his way to the door. Mika sprang up at an inhumane speed and made his way to the door, stopping Professor Crepsley in the corridor.

"Professor!" Mika said, running to Larten.

"Yes, what is it, Mister Ver Leth?" Larten said, not expecting to be stopped in the corridor.

"Well, I was wondering if you believed in vampires," Mika said, an evil sort of gleam in his eyes. "You seemed to know a lot about them in class."

"Oh, well I know my stuff." Larten said, visibly ignoring the subject. "I must go, remember your project!" Larten said as he walked out of the building and to the parking lot.

"Phew, that was a close one." Larten said as he entered his car.

* * *

Larten drove his car to the nearest Starbucks, paring in the nearest spot to the establishment and entering. Once inside, he studied the multiple choices and decided upon the Bold Pick of the Day and a slice of pumpkin cake. After he paid for the goodies, he sat down and absent-mindedly sipped at his cup and thought about his day. His secret... it had almost been exposed... He had never told anyone about that fateful day years and years ago, and he planned on never telling... but that was all before Seba died... Seba had explained as much of the thing as he could, kept him half human... But when would his other half take over, the half that could very well end him? Just then, the sound of bells hitting against the glass door as someone entered snapped him out of his thoughts. His neck snapped up as he looked to see that Annie, Mika, and Arra Sails, a fellow professor, had entered.

"Shoot." Larten whispered under his breath. The trio of suspicious people neared the counter, having a very hushed conversation. As they ordered, Larten tried to find away to get out of the door without them noticing. How awkward would it be for them to see him there? He sipped at his coffee and cursed himself for being such a slave to the bean. Cramming the rest of the cake into his mouth, he scooped up is coffee and started his mad dash to the door. Pushing the door open, he realized he forgot about the bell... The door was shoved open as he realized this, the bell clanging wildly. He kept his face turned, but knew if they even looked in his direction, they'd know it was him just by his orange hair.

"Professor Crepsley!" he heard Annie say. But that had no effect on him. He continued his mad dash all the way to his car. He opened the door and shoved the key into the ignition, turning it and starting up the car as Annie alerted the others of the sighting. But he had already pulled away in his beaten-up laser blue Volkswagen beetle. The car was his father's given to him five years ago as a sort of in-college gift. Also, his father had retired that year and decided to buy a new car. Larten giggled nervously at this memory. Not even his parents knew about his transformation...

The college professor's mind was full of these thoughts as he drove back to his apartment. If only Seba hadn't been killed off... The night Seba died was the night Larten underwent his transformation those fateful ten years ago... Good thing he had gone through puberty early, for he looked mostly the same, only aging two years as ten went by. It wasn't the best existence ever...

When Larten went to college, he was sixteen, having skipped a few grades in his lifetime. He looked like the other students, however, having undergone puberty early. He decided that he would stay in the dorms, and the money his parents had saved up for him plus the scholarships he had applied for and received allowed him a comfortable college life, and he was fortunate enough not to have a roommate. He did have a Seba, however. One day, Larten been writing a term paper, and he heard a bump outside his window. It was nighttime, and since Larten had no irrational fears like that of the night, he went over to check. After finding an old man with scraggly nails clinging to the side of his building, he realized that a rational fear would be that of an old man with scraggly hair, clinging to the side of a building!

"Sir?" Larten said in a shaky voice.

"May I please come in?" The man said in a rough, yet gentle voice, as if he were getting over a cold at the time.

"Uh... Sure...?" Larten said, opening the window as wide as it would go.

"Step aside."

"Uh..." Larten slid over to where his textbooks were, and waited for something to happen. Then, a figure flew through the window, swiflty shutting it behind him.

"Thank you." The man said, sitting down in Larten's bed, across from where Larten was standing.

"Uh... Sir? What the heck are you doing here?" Larten asked, his sense coming back to him.

"You invited me in." The man said simply, removing an apple from his cloak. The orange haired young man sat at his desk, taking a moment to really see the man. He wore a dark red cloak, dark red top hat, sandals, a vest, long-sleeved shirt, and simple black pants. He had graying hair, and a small beard. Larten felt drawn to him in a strange way. One could say he felt their destinies were intertwined...

Larten stared at the apple, realizing he had missed lunch and dinner due to the paper, making him even hungrier than usual after his daily routine of skipping breakfast. The man looked at the apple, then told Larten his name: Seba Nile.

"My name's Larten Crepsley." the boy said, not taking his eye off the apple. Seba took notice of this, and used his nails to split the apple in half, handing the larger half to Larten.

"Huh? Oh, thanks." he said, wolfing the sweet fruit down in seconds.

"Here." Seba said, handing the rest of the apple to the boy.

"Thanks!" he said, once again taking the apple and gulping it down in seconds. He made a mental note to go to the store the next day and not stay in his dorm all day working on his paper. Larten looked at his bed to see that Seba was there, looking intently at Larten.

"Larten, do you know about vampires?" Seba said, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Well, yeah, we all do." Larten said, a bit taken aback by his question.

"Do you believe in them?" Seba asked. Again, the boy was taken aback. Larten believed in all sorts of things, there was a reason he immersed himself in his studies the way he did. He feared rejection. In his schooldays, he never grew out of believing in the tooth fairy or Santa Claus, vampire or fairies. Now, he knew Santa and those things weren't real, but who was to say that vampires and werewolves and fairies weren't?

"Yes, I do." Larten said, focusing on Seba.

"Well, it may interest you that I am one, and I need to stay here for a while..." Seba said.

"Um, what?!" Larten yelled.

And so, Seba moved in with Larten and the education of a lifetime happened within Dorm 3's Room 405 at Cirque College.

* * *

After time, Larten got used to Seba and let him explain the ways of the vampires, enjoying the tales of far away Vampire Generals, Princes, all hidden within Vampire Mountain, the base for all things Vampire. Seba taught him the ways and existence of the vampaneze, and how to hate the vampaneze. Usually, vampaneze traveled along with Circuses, not able to fit in due to their purple skin. Not many vampires could read, and since they couldn't come out during the day, they worked as bartenders and mafias. This was a little knows fact about vampires; they were often the source of gang violence, hiring humans during the day to take the heat, literally.

Seba was also the reason Larten never went to parties. There was much to learn about vampires, and Larten was all too eager to learn. They continued their heavenly lives until the vampaneze showed up. The vampaneze, the ones who killed Larten's friend, his teacher, Seba Nile. But there was one thing the vampaneze didn't know. Before Seba died, he made a half-vampire. He blooded Larten Crepsley as a half-vampire, to forever remain half until the purge came, transforming him into a lone creature of the night.

**A/N: Oooookayyy. SO. What do ya think? Too much? Too little? Like? Dislike? TELL ME PLEASE PEOPLES I KNOW YOU CAN SEE THIS! xD Wow that was pushy.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Beginning of the Night

Professor Crepsley

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque du Freak. Darren Shan does, though, because he's AWESOME!

The professor sighed as he drove to his apartment, remembering the past. Seba was the only thing he had in those days, and there was still so much he was uncertain about. But there was one thing that Larten did he would never forgive himself for, something Seba had warned him about. Young and foolish, he disregarded Seba's warning and went to his parents house a few days after he was blooded. Larten pulled into his apartment parking space, recalling the sad day. Quickly, he tried to get into his building before his emotions rendered him useless and he succumbed to the memory. Luckily, that day, he managed to get into his apartment and collapse on the floor after locking the door behind him.

As he lay on the floor, the memory engulfed him in a cloud of black smoke. His mind played the memory in his mind, clearer and louder than any time before.

_"Master, it will be winter vacation. If I did not go, my parents would be all the more suspicious." Larten told Seba, arms crossed. _

_"Larten," Seba started, sitting on the young man's bed. "I have already told you that you cannot see any mortals now. It is much too dangerous since you have not yet fed!" Larten stared at the older vampire, then scoffed. _

_"They are my parents. It's not like I will go out of control and kill them or anything. And anyway, I already told you I am not drinking human blood yet. I must get used to the idea first." _

_Seba drew a bottle of blood out of his cloak and twirled it in his fingers. _

_"Can you not just think of it as a necessary thing of life?"_

_"No. It is simply inhumane."_

_"Larten. You are no longer human."_

_"YOU SAY THAT LIKE IT WAS MY CHOICE! YOU BLOODED ME TODAY, AND I HAD NO SAY IN IT AT ALL! I WILL BE GOING TO MY PARENTS HOUSE IN A FEW DAYS, AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!" Larten exploded. Immediately after that, his face turned apologetic. "I am so sorry, Master. I do not know what came over me."_

_Seba sighed, looking very sad. It was true Larten hadn't had much of a choice in the matter. However, it was necessary for him to be blooded. Seba knew that, but Larten did not. At least, not yet. _

_"No, you are correct. I should not have blooded you against your will."_

_"It is truly alright. At least I can still go out into the sunlight." _

_Larten uncrossed his arms and walked over to the bed Seba sat on. The newly blooded-half vampire sat next to him, smiling in spite of himself. "I honestly am just glad I was correct all these years. Vampires do really exist..." _

_The two cleared the air between them and their relationship went back to the way it was. When the moon rose into the sky, Larten went to the dorm's kitchen to prepare Seba's "breakfast". Seba stood as Larten left, admiring the moon through the window. _

_"Ah, Destiny... Why, on such a beautiful day?" _

* * *

Larten regained control over himself for a few moments, fighting off the memory as best he could. His heart ached with the pain he felt that day, and he clenched his teeth as he lay on the floor, fighting a battle within himself. He struggled to stand up, straining his legs. Shaky, he grabbed the table for support.

"Why, Destiny? Why have you cursed me so?" he yelled as the memory gained on him. He heard the ticking of a watch, then a blood-curdling laugh. These sounds resonated in his soul as his legs buckled, the memory winning again.

* * *

_Larten returned moments later with two plates of swedish meatballs, Seba's favorite. _

_"Careful, they're hot-" he trailed off, seeing Seba wasn't anywhere to be seen. Hearing a scream, he fled to the open window and peered out. Seba was in the school courtyard, engaged in combat with a dark figure. _

_"Master!" Larten flung himself out of the window, running to the courtyard as fast as he could. As the scene cleared in front of him, he saw that the dark figure Seba was facing in hand-to-hand combat was none other than a vampaneze from Seba's tales, purple-skinned and all. There was a woman sprawled out on the floor, covered in blood but still alive._

_The fight did not yet have a clear-cut winner, but both sides were severely injured. The vampaneze had only one arm left, and blood was spurting from multiple wounds, their locations ranging from his head to his stomach. Seba, however, had all of his limbs, but held in his internal organs with one of his arms. Seba shoved his hand into his opponent's chest, aiming for the heart but missing by several inches. The vampaneze retaliated by kicking Seba's feet from under him and sending his foot toward the vampires chest, breaking most of his ribs. The fight was over. One of the broken ribs pierced his heart as Seba cried out in pain. Larten watched over the events, petrified and unable to do anything except run over to his master and sob. _

_"MASTER!" he yelled, tears flowing from his eyes. The vampires eyes glazed over, death taking him. A flash of yellow entered his line of vision, then the sound of ticking. The vampaneze collapsed. Larten, however, did not notice this as rage filled his heart. After a few moments of mourning, he looked around for the vampaneze who ended his master's life. He was collapsed on the floor, slowly fading into dust. As Larten stared at the ground, watching the despicable creature become no more than the dust he truly was, a pair of bright yellow rain boots entered his line of sight. _

_"Hello, Larten Crepsley." the short man said, clutching something in his hand. Larten stared at the object, more afraid than he had ever been before. This strange man held a human heart in his hand._

_"W-who are y-you and how d-do you know m-my name?" he spluttered, shaking slightly. The short man laughed, running a hand through his white patch of hair.  
_

_"I'm Desmond Tiny, but you can call me Des. Once you put that together, you should figure something out, at least." Desmond grabbed a small velvet pouch from inside his jacked and began putting the dust of the vampaneze into it. He then cast a glance at Seba and smiled. "That was a great fight."_

_"How could you say that, he died..." Larten's eyes filled with tears once again. Desmond scoffed at this behaviour and slapped Larten across the face._

_"That is no way for a vampire to act."_

_"How did you-" Larten began, but cut himself short once he saw the glare the man was giving him. This had to be the most intimidating person Larten had ever met. He already knew this man would be the subject of his nightmares. There was a soft moan as the bloody girl regained consciousness._

_"Finish her off like the vampire you really are," Desmond demanded, waving his hand at Larten. The half-vampire was just about to yell his answer, a clear-cut "NO!" when he found his feet were acting on their own. _

_"What is this madness?" he asked, getting afraid again. Desmond merely grinned as Larten knelt next to the woman and buried his teeth in her next, causing the girl to scream. As her scream echoed into the night, Desmond laughed, his curse taking full effect as he intended it to._

* * *

Larten's eyes filled with tears as the memory faded away. Once again, those yellow rain boots filled his line of vision.

"How could you do that again..."

"Haha, simply enough, actually. But you knew that. It was a shock for you though, wasn't it? When you first realized what my name was?" Desmond asked, grabbing a knife from the counter and throwing it into the wall.

"It is more of a sick joke, really." Larten muttered as he stood up to face Desmond.

"A sick joke?" Desmond looked genuinely hurt for a moment. "I thought it was actually quite clever."

"Haha, Des Tiny? _Destiny?_" The professor laughed.

"Larten, I suggest you stop laughing at me. I was the one who put the memory curse on you, and I can just as easily put another, worse cure on you."

Larten winced, regretting his words.

"Yes. I apologize, Mr. Tiny."

"That's more like it. Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I have places to wreck and people to torture." With that, Destiny left. Larten stood there, memories running rampant in his mind. He swiftly opened his briefcase, taking papers out to grade before he let his emotions and his memories come out to play once again.

* * *

A/N: I AM SO SORRY IT HAS BEEN LIKE 4 MONTHS AND THIS CHAPTER IS AWFUL AND ASDFGHJKL; PLEASE FORGIVE ME! Please R&R, so I can get better?


	4. Chapter 4: Destiny's Part In The Plan

Professor Crepsley

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque du Freak. It belongs to the author of awesomeness, Darren Shan. I do, however, own my face. *giggles*

Larten sat at his kitchen table quaking in fear. The fear was so great he couldn't even be petrified, like a normal person. After years of the ever-changing curse Destiny had cast upon him, he realized that staying frozen in fear only made matters worse. It was on days such as though he cursed the person who said there is nothing to fear but fear itself. The half-vampire laughed to himself without humor. A better thing to say would be there is nothing to fear but Destiny himself. His throat dried after he laughed, making his throat feel as if it was gravel. Larten got up to get himself a glass of water, in a vain attempt to get his mind off things. He grabbed a glass from the cabinets and ran the tap for a second, giving the water a chance to cool and Destiny a chance to further poison his mind.

After his throat no longer felt as if it was gravel, he sat down at the kitchen table once more.

"Why me?" he questioned the air. Most would say the effort was futile, but Larten knew better. After years of Desmond using his malevolent power to make himself seem college-aged, being a student in his class, and the home visits, Larten had gotten to know the nightmarish man better than most. Desmond was always watching, like a god. Or a demon.

Resting his elbows on the table, the professor put his head in his hands, staring at the false wood of the table. His eyes traced the bogus grain of the wood as he attempted once again to clear his mind. Turning his head slightly, his briefcase came into view. There were papers to grade, normal human things to worry about. The half-vampire sighed once again, sitting back in the chair and observing the things around him. The small kitchen looked the same as it ever did, giving Larten a little reassurance. This in mind, he opened up his briefcase and began reading papers. They were each very interesting, give or take a few. He began with his second class first, and half-way through the stack he stumbled across Mika Ver Leth's paper. It was titled 'Vampires In My Town?". The eight minutes he took to read the paper, his heart-beat slowed until he had no idea whether he was alive or not. Mika's paper was Larten's vampirism story. Sure, it was twisted and missing various key parts, but once he started to read, there was no doubt.

In Mika's version, the vampire was once a student at Cirque college who wandered into the forest and came back a vampire. The vampire killed everyone who went into the forest in some sort of blooding protection ceremony. Larten laughed aloud at this. The things people thought vampires were capable of. The vampire desperately tried to keep his secret, even now. According to Mika's paper, the vampire was responsible for the unconscious people found in the forest as well. Mika's typed words explained how the ceremony was over, and these people were only needed for blood. Larten sighed. It seemed that Mika knew very much about the vampire, except its name. Still, something was extremely fishy. Add the drawing of Larten Mika had drawn, and things were downright frightening. Attempting for the umpteenth time to shove those thoughts out of his mind, he went back to reading and grading papers. Mika received a good grade. It was a well written paper, he couldn't deny that.

Continuing to go through papers, he found no more repeats of the paper. That is, until Annie Shan's paper. Annie's legend contained the same information as Mika's give or take a few details. The professor would have to be extra careful around these students...

"Are these young adults to become of the future you have foreseen, Destiny?"

Larten awaited a reply he knew would not come. While Desmond Tiny knew every detail, he was definitely not the helping type. Fear settled once again in the pit of the half-vampire's stomach. If these students were to find out what he actually was...

Larten stopped himself, sneering. Who believed in vampires anyway? But then again, the course he taught did encourage the exploration of such myth... This back and forth battle continued withing his mind for a while before the lateness of the hour got to him. It had been about three o' clock when he had gotten home, and the whole Destiny memory incident had taken nearly three hours. It was now about eleven at night, and as you can imagine, Professor Crepsley was very hungry, and a bit tired. A yawn escaping his lips, he collected his papers together and stood up. He placed the papers into his briefcase and tightly closed it, moving to the fridge. Minutes of desperate searching ended up giving Larten nothing but a carton of eggs and a few strips of bacon. He mentally kicked himself. Among all the madness of the day, he had forgotten to go grocery shopping. Skillfully frying up his meager meal, he grabbed a bottle of blood from inside the refrigerator.

"Huh." he muttered, seeing his supplies were very low. He'd have to go down to the forest again. No no, that was MUCH too risky. What was he even thinking? He thought of a better solution as he flipped the eggs on a plate. A smile spread across his lips as he realized a visit to Jimmy Ovo is what he would need. It had been a while since he had seen the pathologist, and it would be nice to see Mr. Ovo again. More than once, Larten had accompanied Seba on his blood-bottling adventures. The first time he had gone, he'd nearly vomited several times over. Jimmy had been there, a young pathologist at the time. Jimmy's words were kind and he helped Larten get over his fear. Of course, Jimmy hadn't know Larten would become a vampire, but when Larten had come on his own the first time ten years ago, it wasn't a surprise.

"Vampires just come to me for blood." Jimmy had said, shrugging.

Finishing his eggs and the nice little memory, Larten stood to place his plate in the sink. He rubbed his eyes and yawned again, scratching at his scar, ready to sleep. After brushing his teeth and breaking yet another toothbrush, he undressed and lay in his bed. The alarm clock was set to a new time, three in the morning. He had barely three hours to sleep, but he didn't mind. Whenever Desmond came to visit, he was always plagued by awful nightmares. If he set his alarm clock to an earlier time, he'd have less time to be tortured by nightmares expertly crafted by Destiny.

* * *

Larten awoke in his usual cold sweat. He frantically searched around, making sure he wasn't really being devoured by small people in blue robes. Finally realizing he was in his room and it was 2:17 in the morning, he decided he may as well get ready for the impending gathering a dark red suit and the red cloak Seba had left in his dorm room on that fateful day, he walked into the bathroom. Laughing at his reflection, he ran a hand through his unkempt hair. It was wildly orange and scruffy as usual, but he forced the laugh out, needing one desperately.

All showered up and hair all blow dried, he grabbed his briefcase and empty blood bottles. Ready to leave, Larten opened his front door to something he both did and did not expect. Irritated, he spoke the first thing that came into his mind.

"My word, are you not in my life enough already?"

The small man laughed at this, narrowing his eyes.

"Is that any way to treat the one in control of your fate?"

Larten grimaced, realizing his mistake.

"No," he muttered, shaking his head.

"Of course not." Desmond glanced at his watched before he continued speaking. "And, if you were referring to the fact that I am in your college class, know that I am not there for you. I am merely guiding the chips."

"Guiding the chips?"

"Yes. You've heard the saying. You know, 'let the chips fall as they may'? But seeing as I am who I am, I guide the chips to their selected... Destin-ations." Laughter that gave grown adults nightmares followed the last statement.

"Ah," Larten said, acting as if the laughed did not affect him. "More clever wordplay."

"Indeed. Now, I've got to go. Oh, and to answer your first question, I shall be in your college class, and your life, for a very long while. I do love to keep track of my children."

"Children?"

With that, Desmond laughed his horrible laugh and flounced away. The professor quickly thanked the gods that exchange hadn't gone for the worst. His mind cleared the events that had just happened and he remembered he had things on his agenda. His nostrils felt assaulted as the cool night air entered his nostrils. Quickly running to his car, he clambered in and turned the Beetle on. There wasn't a single soul in sight. Smiling at the loneliness, he pulled out of his parking space and sped toward the hospital. He knew the way pretty well by now, he had always been the sort of man to remember many things (when he did forget something, it was something very big and it embarrassed him for months after). There were very few cars in the lot, so his red cloak wouldn't stand out as much as usual.

The half-vampire silently ran toward the back of the hospital where the ambulances brought in patients. Or dead bodies. Catching himself cracking an evil smile, he snapped himself back into his usual grimace. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he opened the door and walked through the labyrinth of hallways. Many minuted of purposeful walking had passed when he finally reached the morgue.

"Larten Crepsley?" Jimmy Ovo asked, incredulous.

"It has been too long, dear friend."

"Ha, it's only been five years, you old dog!"

"Jimmy," Larten said, grinning. "I have told you this many times before. I am no older than you, several years younger, in fact. I am truly 29 years old."

"Sure, sure, Mr. Crepsley. Sure." Jimmy was famed among vampires for his sarcasm.

"Ah, it is Professor Crepsley now." Larten rested a hand on the counter, waiting to be let in to the morgue. The pathologist grinned, raising the counter so Larten could walk through.

"After you, Professor."

"Thank you, Mr. Ovo."

The two chatted about life and the occurences in it for a good hour, when something strange happened.

"Guess who stopped by a few years ago?" Jimmy asked, smiling.

"Who?"

"Gav-" Jimmy was cut off, bright blue numbers flashing around him. Everything froze. The hands on the clock froze, Jimmy froze, Larten couldn't move. The only things moving were the blindingly bright blue numbers flashing around Jimmy. Larten took in the scene, or the snapshot, rather. What was going on? As he looked around, he was afraid. Very afraid. He thought he would be less afraid if this were to happen again. But Larten wasn't that fortunate. He was more afraid now. More afraid now because this was the second time something like this had happened.

* * *

The first time this strange thing happened, a few months ago, Larten's second year teaching at his old college. He was very nervous, there were an infinite amount of risks that went with teaching at the college that had given him his education. Larten didn't look a day over 23, two years added to the age he had looked when he had been blooded. Ten years had past, ageing him only two years, but he mostly looked the same. No significant differences. There was also the fact that his professors would recognize him. However, since that was really the only college in the area he really didn't have much of a choice. Larten decided to face these chances and teach there anyway. On his first day, after looking into the faces of his students, everything froze, like what was happening in the morgue. Bright blue numbers flashed all around them, the classroom fading into something else. Larten could have sworn he saw a circus tent, with a very adult Mr. Tall commanding the people inside. Evra Von, the boy who was always covered up so you couldn't see his face, had scales like a snake! Sive and Seersa were performers as well! Even Darren was there, walking along with some man in a red cloak...

That was all he could see until everything went back to normal, the students appearing as if they hadn't seen anything. Freaking out and unsure of what to do, Larten blamed this strange happening on stress.

Little did he know, that somewhere, someone was struggling to keep Larten from seeing the truth...

A/N: Did ya like it? I was playing Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded for the umpteenth time, and the data thing kind of hit me. Now that I think I know where I'm going with this, it'll be lots of fun. Sorry for any mistakes, or if any of the new information cancels out the info from any of the old ones. My headcanon had been reweritten and changed up so many times. Sorry if you didn't like it, but please R&R?


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